Heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka, police post in South attacked

Jan 21, 2008 (AFP) – Fierce fighting erupted in northern Sri Lanka Monday as government forces mounted a fresh push into territory held by Tiger rebels, with the official death toll from the new clashes at more than 50. At least 46 civilians have been killed in rebel attacks since the start of January, according […]

Sri Lanka pours forces into south after rebel attacks

Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka poured thousands more security forces into the Sinhalese-dominated south on Tuesday after a string of Tamil rebel attacks left 37 civilians and three police dead, officials said.Suspected rebels shot dead a police officer and two constables on Monday night near the township of Thanamalvila, police officials said.They had […]

Sri Lanka inflation rockets to new record of 26.2-pct amid money printing

Jan 21, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s country-wide inflation hit an all time record 26.2 percent in November 2007, following one of the worst bouts of money printing ever seen in the country, the latest official data showed.The Sri Lanka Consumer Price Index’s (SLCPI) previous high was 24.1 percent recorded in October as the government […]

Sri Lanka military says at least 29 killed in fresh fighting

Jan 21, 2008 (AFP) – Heavy fighting raged across Sri Lanka’s north with the military destroying rebel bunkers and killing at least 29 guerrillas, the defence ministry said Monday.The ministry said 16 rebels were killed in Vavuniya district while 13 were killed in clashes across Mannar district in the northwest on Sunday. The latest fighting […]

Sri Lanka says independence celebrations on despite Tiger threat

Jan 20, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will hold large-scale civilian and military independence day celebrations in the capital next month despite fears of Tamil rebel attacks, officials said Sunday. Security will be increased further ahead of the 60th Freedom Day on February 4, with 4,100 extra security personnel bolstering thousands of police and soldiers […]

Sri Lanka says 32 killed in fresh violence

Jan 19, 2008 (AFP) – At least 31 Sri Lankan guerrillas and one soldier were killed in heavy fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels across the embattled north, the defence ministry said on Saturday. The rebels died in clashes Friday and early Saturday in the Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna districts bordering the de […]

Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers murder nine civilians: military

Jan 18, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military on Friday accused Tamil Tiger rebels of murdering nine civilians in the island’s south as violence between the two sides escalated after the formal end of a ceasefire. The army said nine villagers died in separate attacks in the south, suggesting the rebels were again extending their […]

Fleecing Ethics

Jan 18, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s opposition has added fuel to the growing fire over petroleum firms fleecing petrol users to give subsidies to diesel consumers especially in commercial sectors.Sri Lanka’s government also taxes petrol users heavily but now the two main fuel distributors, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and Lanka IOC, a unit of Indian […]

Bigger One

Jan 18, 2008 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) refinery expansion may be doubled to a 100,000 barrels-per-day project and its cost may go up to a billion dollars, a top official said.“An Iranian team has already started a feasibility project and now we are looking at a bigger project, which may […]

Sri Lanka policy rates unchanged, but tight stance promised

Jan 17, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s central bank kept its main discount rate to banks unchanged at 12.00 percent but promised tight monetary policy ahead based on a quantity targeting framework unveiled earlier in January. “The targeted growth in reserve money, which will be maintained on a daily average basis, will ensure strict maintenance […]

Sri Lanka should be mindful of impact on poor from new inflation index: CEPA

Jan 17, 2007 (LBO) – A controversy over a new price index in Sri Lanka may have erupted partly because it came at time of high inflation, but the index shows the same trend as earlier ones, an organization focusing on poverty has said.“However, it is vital to remember that inflation hurts the poor first […]

Departing Sri Lanka peace monitors say military solution not possible

Jan 16, 2008 (AFP) – Nordic peace monitors pulled out of Sri Lanka on Wednesday following the collapse of a ceasefire, and warned that the war between the island’s government and Tamil rebels cannot be won by either side.The Norwegian-led Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was to shut down its operations late Wednesday, after Colombo […]

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